Recycling is not the point. It's not green, eco-friendly, or sustainable. Recycling uses resources that don't need to be used if you reduce or reuse before you resort to recycling.
(Ok, not seriously, but do other stuff too!!!!)
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. They're listed in that order for a reason.
Immediately after linking to facebook my previous post about two new bag bans, I saw a post by My Plastic-free Life about an Illinois bill about to be voted on that would effectively ban plastic bag bans. You can see a summary of SB3442 here and the full text here.
From a quick read through the bill, the overall point seems to be to make manufacturers take responsibility for their product and provide opportunities to increase recycling. However, it also includes a provision that only allows the state to regulate the collection and recycling bags , including that "home rule units" (municipalities, I guess) with less than 2,000,000 people cannot ban or tax plastic bags.
Hi Margaret,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Reducing and Reusing are more important than recycling.
But I disagree that recycling is not useful as a last resort. At the very least it reduces the amount of raw materials going into products. Even if we try really hard with Reducing and Reusing we will still produce some waste (whether plastic or not). Are you really suggesting that we should dump it in landfill? Because that is how your post comes across.
Curious to know what you think,
Rose
No of course not! Didn't mean it to come across like that.
ReplyDeleteMy frustration is when legislation and other "solutions" are based entirely on recycling, as if that's the first (and sometimes as if it's even the only available) step. Anything that's being discarded that can be recycled should be to avoid being wasted completely in the land fill, but I think too often the emphasis is placed on recycling to the exclusion of coming up with ideas to reduce and reuse, such as charging for plastic bags would reduce the need for manufacturing bags, whether made out of new or recycled materials.
I still stand by my statement that recycling isn't truly sustainable though. It's *less unsustainable* than a landfill! But it still requires energy and resources to process the recycled materials, and many materials can only be recycled so many times before they're useless and we have to start using new materials eventually - for example, plastics are downgraded in quality when they're processed so can't be used for as many things each time, and paper fibers get shorter each time they're processed and eventually are too short to make into new paper.
I appreciate the feedback and dialog. :)
Hi Margaret
ReplyDeleteto all of the above - very true. I wasn't disagreeing with the need to strive for more that recycling as yes, its not the best option. But recycling is a great place to start when trying to help people think about their waste. Unfortunately it's often a much bigger change to your life to go for the reduce/reuse options. In your plastic bag case, having to get into the mindset of a different kind of bag. (Sounds like a really small thing but the amount of people who do not take reusable bags to the supermarket). so, yes, legislation is a good way of getting there, and it is a shame when the opportunity isn't taken and diluted as in your examples above.
My comment was because I worry that negative comments about recycling (as an example of not the best green option but a less bad one) can get picked up by people who are anti any kind of more sustainable living practice and used for 'don't do anything' rather than the 'do better things' which you meant. Of course it needs criticizing but what if someone just read your title?!
As an aside I spoke to some companies about crisp packaging - mainly asking if it would be possible to use alternative packaging; one said 'all our (plastic) packaging is recyclable' - irrespective of the fact that in reality in the UK its not. Whilst another said, and I quote, 'One route of this recyclability is incineration.' Completely missing the point! I was gobsmacked!
Btw the new look to your blog looks great.
Rose
oops, I meant more THAN recycling in the first line, apologies.
ReplyDelete'One route of this recyclability is incineration.' Oh geez!
ReplyDeleteI see your point, I edited to clarify my sarcasm. :)
ReplyDelete